quote Originally posted by Patrick: Current rate of infection per million - USA is 3.9 and Canada is 2.7 A lot of members here love to knock the socialized Canadian medical system. After the dust settles, it'll be interesting to see which country, Canada or the US, has the lowest rate of infection.

Heh heh, the excuses are already pouring in.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: It will be the nation with the most area that is most sparsely populated and fewer international visitors i suspect.

I'd like to dispel the notion that the population of Canada is evenly dispersed throughout the entire Arctic tundra. Facts are, 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border. In regards to international visitors bringing the virus to North America, I should be in real jeopardy living here in Vancouver then. It's quite a tourist mecca... and those enormous floating petri dishes (cruise ships) dock here on a regular basis.

quote Originally posted by MadMark: That would not be the metric I would chose to see which system was better. I would chose how many survived vs how many were infected. The number infected doesn't mean anything as to how well your medical system is working. And like maryjane said the dispersed population of Canada plays into the numbers too.

Well, you are the one who mentioned it initially, Mark... Here. We can choose whatever other metric you'd prefer... but with Canadians not needing to pay for a doctor's visit, it stands to reason that Canadians will be diagnosed much sooner and then quickly quarantined and treated... long before they spread it to everyone else within their social circles.

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: LOL its ****ing cold and where are you going to go?

I like that response, even if it's not entirely true.

------------------
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Weather Conditions

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 03-12-2020).]

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 03-12-2020).]

quote Originally posted by Patrick: but with Canadians not needing to pay for a doctor's visit, it stands to reason that Canadians will be diagnosed much sooner and then quickly quarantined and treated... long before they spread it to everyone else within their social circles.

I like that response, even tho there is SO much wrong with it.
Only 8.5% of Americans today (25.6 million) are without basic health insurance. (as of Sept. 10, 2019)
That of course means that 91.5% (305.4 million) of Americans do have health insurance. Among that 8.5% tho is about 2% that choose not to have it because they have the financial ability to pay cash for almost any health problem, so that means 93.5% of Americans have the ability to be seen free or virtually cost free for their health needs.
The population of the USA Jan 2020 is 331 million people. The population of Canada is approx 37.5 million people today. The US has 267.9 million more people with health insurance than Canada does.

The other side of that is US federal law prevents any medical facility to ever turn away anyone with life threatening health problems and in this declared pandemic, that includes anyone with symptoms of or history related to Covid-19.

I very much suspect that the largest demographic that fails to seek medical aid at this time are those who simply think it is just a cold and it will be resolved by OTC medications and of course, those conspiracy nutjobs (like the antivaxxers) that won't go to the doctor under any circumstances, financially able or not.

I read yesterday, that Germany, a nation with mandatory health insurance coverage laws for all citizens is prepared for up to 70% of it'c citizens to become infected with Covid-19. The virus doesn't give a crap if one has health coverage or not. And, because it is so strongly held that perfectly healthy appearing infected people are shedding the virus, few will have any apparent reason for seeking health care until after symptoms appear. General health, age and pre-existing conditions/risk factors will play the biggest role in determining how many end up dead no matter which nation it is. Among the highest influencers for death in regards to Covid-19 is high blood pressure. About 30% of all Americans (103 million) have hypertension/high blood pressure. Add diabetes or COPD or congestive heart failure to the mix and the odds are really stacked against ya, and these factors will be much bigger than whether one has the ability to get medical care for 'free' or not. About 17% of Canadians have high blood pressure.

I went to my primary care doctor today. About 8 miles from home in the nearest little town. Previously scheduled appointment for diabetic blood work and I've had a dang runny nose for about 5 months now. Doc had previously told me it was likely just pollen allergies. (Pine is the big winter pollen producer here, as well as Ashe Juniper..aka 'cedar'. ) I wanted some relief from the runny nose. Since I had a bunch of them available, and didn't want to chance anything with healthcare givers since I had been a recent visitor to a hospital full of ill people, I wore a surgical mask when I went in. The woman at the desk asked:
"Are you wearing that mask because you have a respiratory problem or because you are afraid of getting something?"

Me:
I'm wearing it because I have a runny nose, a sometimes cough, and partly because I'm selfish in that I have something and don't want YOU to have it"
She wasn't amused.
Instead of telling me to take a seat in the waiting room (there was only 1 other person there) she pointed down the hall, said
"Go in the first room there on the right, shut the door and stay there until someone comes in to check you."

The 'someone' person came in shortly, with a better mask than I was wearing, disposable gloves, took my temp remotely via my ear, listened to my chest and asked me where I had been recently, what all my symptoms were etc. I heard her telling the doctor and about 30 minutes later he came in and examined me. He was in no mood for small talk and was noticeably more standoffish than when I had seen him many times before.

They are taking no chances either.
Ended up getting a steroid shot (my 1st ever) and a prescription for Clyndamycin and a some kind of nasal spray. Limited to what I can take because I am allergic to almost all versions of penicillin and all sulfa drugs. (My diabetes workup looked fine)

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 03-12-2020).]